Brothers
by JacquelineHyde114
Summary: Brother Bear fanfic! Sitka and Denahi watch over baby Kenai.
1. Brothers

_Disclaimer – I LOVE Disney! And since I do, I can not take credit for any characters you may recognize. My first Disney Fanfic…kind of…I have a Narnia Fanfic, but that's considered C. S. Lewis._

"Ha ha! You'll never catch me Sitka!" A laughing boy of 9 years called to his older brother.

"That's what you think!" Sitka yelled before pouncing. Denahi never had a chance. In a flash, his 14-year-old brother had grabbed him by the ankles and the ground had stopped moving beneath his feet.

"Woah!" Denahi yelled as he fell to the ground with a thud. "Ow." He sat up, wincing and rubbing his head.

"You okay?" Sitka asked, laughing.

"Of course." Denahi said before tackling his older brother to the ground. The two wrestled for a few minutes before the gentle sound of footsteps was upon them.

"Alright boys, that's enough." Their mother, Kia told them. In her arms, she held their 1-year-old brother, Kenai. "Time to go get some supper."

"Per!" Kenai repeated happily.

"Yes, that's right Sweetheart. Supper." Kia rubbed noses with her youngest son before looking down at her older boys, who were still wrestling in the leaves. "Come on, you two. Let's go." She gave one of them a small kick.

"Ow." This time Sitka sat up, rubbing his back where his mother had kicked him.

"Rawr!" Denahi, completely wound up after the fight, jumped up and grabbed Sitka's short black ponytail. The older boy let out a yelp of pain and surprise.

"Denahi!" Kia scolded. "Let go of your brother right now!"

"Sorry Mommy…" Denahi looked down at his feet.

"Don't apologize to me."

"Sorry you big wooly mammoth." Denahi told Sitka.

"Denahi!"

"It's alright you smelly little field rat." Sitka responded.

"Sitka!" Kia seemed even more shocked at Sitka's insult than Denahi's.

"It's alright, Mommy. He's called me worse." Denahi gave his mother an angelic gaze that deceived no one.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you two. You know I was going to ask if you wanted to watch Kenai tomorrow, but now…"

"Really?" Sitka asked. Both boys' faces positively glowed with excitement. Ever since Kenai had been born, both had been begging for an opportunity to watch over him for a day.

"Really. But if you two are always fighting…"

"We won't fight anymore Mommy! Promise!" Denahi announced as he ran to hug Sitka. "See? We're bestest friends!" They looked at their mother with pleading brown eyes.

"Please?" Sitka begged.

"Alright." Kia laughed.

"Yay!" Denahi cried triumphantly.

"Get off of me." Sitka playfully pushed Denahi to the ground.

"But you two are going to have to be very responsible, do you understand?"

"Uh huh!"

"We'll take real good care of him!"

"We're gonna have so much fun tomorrow, Kenai!" Denahi told his little brother excitedly, standing on his tip-toes to look his brother in the eye. Kenai gave a squeal of delight and grabbed Denahi's face. "Ow! Mom! Get him off!" Kia gently lifted Kenai's hands off Denahi's face while Sitka was doubled up with laughter. "Ew…he got spit on me." Denahi wiped off his face with disgust.

"Yee!" Kenai smiled happily.


	2. Protected

That night, long after everyone had fallen asleep, Denahi crept into his brother's tent.

"Psst! Sitka!" Denahi whispered. Sitka stirred for a moment, but didn't awaken. "Sitka!" Denahi poked him. He rolled over onto his side. "Sitka!" Denahi yelled.

"What!" Sitka bolted up right, startled. "Denahi! Are you alright!"

"I'm fine. I just wanted to know…is it morning yet?"

"I – What?"

"Is it morning yet?" Denahi repeated slowly.

"Is it morning yet? Are you crazy? Take a look outside! What do you think?"

"Almost?" Denahi asked hopefully.

"Not even close. Go back to sleep."

"But I want it to be morning!"

"And I want you to go away, but that's not happening either."

"Come on Sitka! Let's go ask Mommy if we can watch Kenai early!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"She's asleep and Kenai's asleep and I want to be asleep and you should too. Now good night!" Sitka pulled his covers over his head.

"Can I sleep in here with you tonight?" Denahi asked. Sitka threw off the covers and stared at his little brother.

"You've got to be kidding."

"I don't want to walk back to my tent alone."

"You walked here alone, didn't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Then you can walk back alone."

"But there may be bears…"

"They won't hurt you."

"But Dad…" Denahi whimpered. Sitka looked at his little brother. Tears glistened in the 9-year-old's eyes. He should have known there was more to Denahi's visit than excitement. Ever since a hunting accident had claimed the life of their father a few months earlier, Denahi had spent countless nights in their mother's arms. Sitka figured that tonight, Denahi wanted their mother to believe he was grown up enough to not spend a night with her. Sitka placed a comforting arm around his Denahi's shoulders.

"You know the Spirits are always watching over us. Dad wouldn't want you to be scared." He said softly. Denahi sniffed and nodded. "Come here." He pulled his brother close as the younger boy cried gently into his shoulder. "It's alright." Denahi put his arms around his older brother. Sitka, feeling tears well in his own eyes, held him for a few moments, letting him cry. As the tears began to subside, Sitka asked, "Do you want to try and sleep?" Denahi nodded sleepily, wiping tears away from his eyes.

"Okay." Sitka pulled his blankets so that they covered both brothers. "Good night." He whispered.

"Good night Sitka." Denahi whispered. Minutes later, Denahi heard Sitka's deep, even breathing and knew that he had fallen asleep. Next to his big, strong brother Sitka, Denahi felt safe and protected. Listening to the rhythmic sound of his brother's breathing, Denahi drifted off to sleep.


	3. Head Trauma

"Wake up Sitka! Wake up! Wake up!" Denahi jumped up and down, dangerously close to stepping on Sitka's head. "We're watching Kenai today! Up, up, up!" Sitka sat up and yawned. Clearly Denahi had pushed all memories of the night before from his mind.

"I need some food." Sitka said.

"You can eat later. Let's go watch Kenai!"

Outside, their mother was preparing their morning meal. "Good morning, boys." She greeted them. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Sitka said, now caught up in his brother's excitement.

"Alright, well I'm going to let you eat, then I guess I'll be off!"

"Where are you going?" Sitka asked.

"I thought I would take a walk with Tanana up the mountain today. You know that it's almost time for your cousin's ceremony." Kia said.

"Yeah! Sanai is getting his Spirit Rock tomorrow!" Denahi remembered.

"It's a Totem." Sitka corrected.

"How long until I get my Spirit Rock?" Denahi asked, completely ignoring his brother. Kia giggled.

"It will be a few more years, Sweetheart. Sitka has to get his Totem first."

"Why does Sitka always get to go first?"

"Because I'm the oldest." Sitka said with a smirk. Denahi stuck his tongue out.

"How long till you get yours?" He asked.

"I only have one more year."

"Then I only have to wait two years?"

"Try six."

"Six years? I can't wait that long!" Denahi cried.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to, Sweetheart." Kia ruffled her son's messy black hair.

"What's your Totem, Mommy?" Denahi asked.

"You know what her Totem is." Sitka said.

"No I don't! I really forgot!"

"Uh huh." Normally, Sitka would have argued, but he didn't want to do anything that may make his mother think they were too immature to watch Kenai.

"My Totem is the Deer of Gentleness." She said.

"Yeah, and Dad's was the Wolf of Courage." Sitka said. Kia smiled sadly.

"What do you think ours will be?" Denahi asked.

"I think…Sitka will be Kindness. And Denahi…I think yours will be Playfulness."

"That would make sense." Sitka muttered.

"I think Sitka's will be a Moose because he's so slooooooow!" Denahi said, anxiously waiting for Sitka to finish eating.

"Why would a moose represent being slow?" Sitka asked. Denahi thought for a moment.

"I don't know. But you look like a moose."

"I do not!"

"Boys…" Kia warned. "No fighting today."

"Sorry." Both brothers said.

"Good morning." A friendly female voice greeted the family.

"Hi Nana!" Denahi and Sitka greeted the Shaman woman happily.

"Hello there, boys. Sitka, I can not believe how you are growing."

"Neither can I." Kia smiled.

"Hello Dear." Tanana and Kia embraced. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." She turned to her two oldest sons. "Now boys, Kenai's already been fed, but he'll need something in the afternoon, so I've prepared some berries and I left them in my tent. Make sure you're always watching him, because he will wander off."

"Mom, don't worry. We watch you watch him every day." Sitka reassured his mother.

"Yeah! Don't worry!" Denahi piped up.

"Have a good time on the mountain!" Sitka called as Tanana led Kia off.

"Yay! She's gone!" Denahi jumped up and down.

"Yep…just you and me and Kenai…" The two brothers looked at each other.

"So…what do we do now?" Denahi asked.

"I don't know. I guess we should watch Kenai." They walked over to the bundle of blankets that cradled their brother. After a few minutes of watching him sleep, Denahi looked at Sitka.

"This is boring."

"I know…but we promised Mom we'd watch him."

"But he's not _doing_ anything." Denahi grumbled. "Let's wake him up!"

"I don't think so!"

"Agh! Today is going to be so boring!" Denahi threw his hands up in aggravation.

Five hours later, the day had proven itself to be anything but boring. Kenai had woken, screaming for his mother. Since their mother wasn't there, Sitka and Denahi had to make funny faces until Kenai stopped crying. That made Kenai so hyper that he started screeching and running around trees until he ran head first into one. Terrified that he was seriously injured, Sitka and Denahi ran to the wailing one-year-old and rushed him down to the river so they could dab a wet cloth on his head. After they had been seated, the sight of the water seemed to make Kenai forget all about the pain in his head and he started wriggling in Sitka's arms, attempting to get to the water.

"Kenai! Stop! Ow!" Kenai's small yet powerful fist hit Sitka square in the nose. "Denahi! Don't just stand there! Help me!"

"How?" Denahi asked worthlessly.

"I don't know…grab his feet or something!"

"Okay." Denahi grabbed hold of his baby brother's feet, but in doing so accidentally pulled him out of Sitka's arms. Kenai's delicate head hit Sitka's knee with a loud THUNK! Kenai started screaming.

"You weren't supposed to pull!" Sitka cried, terrified once again that his youngest brother had sustained a massive head injury.

"I'm sorry!" Denahi looked startled.

"It's okay Kenai…It's okay…" Sitka tried to comfort the screaming one-year-old.

"Maybe we should let him lie down in the grass." Denahi suggested.

"Knowing our luck, he would roll himself headfirst into a boulder." Sitka said.

"Didn't Mom say that happened to you once?"

"No. Funnily enough that was you."

"Oh."

"Yeah. A lot of things make sense now, don't they?" Sitka teased. Slowly, Kenai's screams died down. "I think we need to get some food in you." Sitka told Kenai.

"Have you ever fed him before?" Denahi asked.

"Well…no…not really, but come on. He's one. How hard can it be?"


	4. Lunchtime

"Come on Kenai…just one bite! Please?" An hour later, Kenai still remained unfed.

"Your way isn't working. Let me do it!" Denahi pushed Sitka out of the way. "Open up Kenai! Berries are good! There you go!" Denahi shoved a spoonful of berries into the baby's mouth. "See? You just need to show him who's -" but before the word "boss" escaped his lips, Kenai had spit all the berries into Denahi's hair with a loud raspberry noise. Denahi glared daggers into the tree straight ahead while Sitka leaned against another tree so as not to collapse from laughter. Kenai giggled, clapped his hands, and bobbed up and down.

"Nahi! Merries!" Kenai laughed.

"Yes! You got 'merries' all over 'Nahi!'" Sitka managed through his laughter.

"Oh yes, Kenai's just so adorable." Denahi grumbled.

"Cuter than you." Sitka said. "Then of course, that is not a hard thing to accomplish."

"Oh yeah? Well, you're not that pretty with all those berries in your hair." Denahi said.

"I don't have berries in my hair." Sitka told him. Denahi grabbed a handful of berries and smashed them into his brother's hair.

"Now you do."

"You little-" Sitka grabbed Denahi and forced him into a headlock. They were soon engaged in a rather violent wrestling match. After five minutes of missed punches, twisted legs, and pulled hair, Sitka finally grabbed Denahi's arms and sat on his back. Denahi, being significantly smaller than Sitka, started wheezing for breath. Grinning triumphantly, Sitka stood up and said, "You see Kenai? That is how you-" His words stopped dead, however, when he turned to see his little brother's blanket unoccupied. "Kenai!" He yelled.

"You _lost_ him!" Denahi gasped. "Oooh, Mom is gonna kill you."

"Wha – I – No! You're just as much to blame as I am!" Sitka told him.

"But you're the oldest."

"But he was both of our responsibilities."

"I still think Mom's gonna kill you."

"Okay…shut up and let's think for a minute…he's one …he can't possibly have gotten that far."

"Unless he rolled down a steep hill…or was taken by a bear…or a flock of geese or - "

"A flock of geese?"

"Geese are so mean! Once they chased me and tried to eat me alive!"

"Maybe you'll remember that incident next time you're tempted to pluck feathers from a gooses tail!"

"How was I supposed to know geese were vicious evil monsters?"

"They're not if you just leave them alone."

"Oh come one. Those things honk! They're just asking to have their feathers plucked!" Sitka looked at his younger brother.

"That makes no sense at all." He said, utterly confused.

"It does too!"

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does!" Denahi yelled. Sitka covered his ears.

"Thank you…I'm right here…" He told Denahi. Suddenly, he remembered his youngest brother. "What are we doing? We have to go find Kenai!"

_TBC_


End file.
